Summer Practicum
Before I left for Tokyo I went for a practicum in my university's farm for a whole week. Generally it was fun, some parts were scary and some parts were really exhausting.
it was raining cows and pigs for days but work still went on
for 6 days :
1. I've seen a cow poop and pee more than I see myself doing it
2. I've stepped on cow poo more than grass (no way to avoid)
3. I've been attacked by cow poop more than rain
4. I've captured more cows than mosquitoes
so basically we were trained to capture cows with just a rope. A cow's eyesight scope is wide.... maybe 280 degrees...
the best way to approach a cow is from the back... just like how you approach a man from the side... if you approach from the front, they will be shocked... just like a man.As you approach ... pat its butt ... or hip... however you wanna call it.
Go slowly to the front then grab the nose ring. It looks like it hurts but that is the only way the cow will calm down... which is by squeezing the nose muscles.
Then make a special knot and tie it to a bar. To make a cow move... kick its hoof softly... it works!! so cute...
But the difficult part was.. some cows were seriously aggressive. It was raining like mad and some were jumping around ... splattering cow poop and urine all over our bodies and faces... ($#%#!!)
and we captured them for many reasons...
we brushed them, used them for lecturing about body parts.
then we had to weigh them, get their noseprints (like human fingerprints)
we had to grade cows by feeling their muscles and bones
we also measured almost 10 parts of their body parts... etc
noseprintng was seriously exciting. a crumpled piece of newspaper was swiftly pushed into the nose to wipe ... then roll blank ink over it then a thin piece of paper over the nose. It has to be done really quick before the cow licks its nose and wet it again...
and we have to lead those cows for grazing every morning and evening after milking them
it was a really cool scene
then we had to harvest corn and make some storage for the silo. tonnes of it.
trucks and trucks of corn came into the underground silo and we had to make it compact by foot. so it was like making wine where we had to step on them over and over... it took almost 2 days in the blazing sun and pouring rain to make a giant grave-like silo packed up..
told ya we couldn't avoid... cow poop was everywhere ... my shirt and pants were attacked too
so it was back in the dorm. I shared my room with 7 other guys from another course.
and above were other room mates too....
And one guy went complaining " I cant poop !!! " that spider was inside the cubicle... lol
So that was the reason why we ended up walking to 7-11 just to accompany him to the toilet.
days later... a cicada came in. the same guy complained " its too noisy!!! i can't poop !!" ... and he went to 7-11 again.
and they lived happily ever after
we were separated into small groups. every group has to milk a cow for 2 times.
averagely, a cow produces around 10kg of milk every morning, and around half the amount in the evening.
milking was fun but equally tiring. A cow stands on a platform so that its udder is the same height as your face, and you don't have to squat as you milk them... then, as you sterilize their udder, some will end up pooping and splatter all over your face, hands and your apron... (#$%&!!)
this thing is the milker... we worked with these. They're really heavy... a girl dropped it when she held it for the first time.
practicum over.... report ..... (#$%!!)
heh, looks like fun! what was it for? were you volunteering or uni work?
ya'know... i've never actually seen a black and white cow in real life. o_O
ya... its my first time getting up close to these cows... its uni work..
I can see you really enjoy see cow only...OMG...i will die if i were you...anyway...i am wandering if you can remember me....nvm.....enjoy your time in that place!
whoa.... havent even talked to nicholas since grad.... and now the brother comes looking for me...haha